Post job

Opinion editor education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an opinion editor. Opinion editors usually study journalism, english, or communication. 84% of opinion editors hold a bachelor's degree, and 7% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 816 real opinion editor resumes to see exactly what opinion editor education sections show.

The most common colleges for opinion editors are the California State University - San Bernardino and the California State University - San Bernardino.

There are also many online opinion editor courses to help get the education required to be an opinion editor.

What education do you need to become an opinion editor?

What degree do you need to be an opinion editor?

The most common degree for opinion editors is bachelor's degree, with 84% of opinion editors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 7% and associate degree degree at 3%.
  • Bachelor's, 84%
  • Associate, 7%
  • Master's, 3%
  • High School Diploma, 3%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become an opinion editor?

You should major in journalism to become an opinion editor. 24% of opinion editors major in journalism. Other common majors for an opinion editor include english and communication.

Most common colleges for opinion editors

Opinion editors often get their degrees at California State University - San Bernardino, Washington State University, and University of South Florida. Here are the most common colleges for opinion editors in the US based on their resumes.
Opinion editor common collegePercentages
California State University - San Bernardino7.59%
Washington State University6.33%
University of South Florida6.33%
University of Wisconsin Colleges6.33%
East Carolina University6.33%

Best majors for opinion editors

RankMajorPercentages
1Journalism24.3%
2English18.2%
3Communication16.4%
4Political Science10.9%
5Writing5.3%

Best colleges for opinion editors

The best colleges for opinion editors are Northwestern University, Washington University in St Louis, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

An opinion editor with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for opinion editors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become opinion editors.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

In-state tuition

$53,399

Enrollment

7,356

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

8. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

9. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

10. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

20 best online courses for opinion editors

Advertising disclosure

1. Practical Vim Editor Commands On Linux

coursera

Vim, or vi improved, is a standard editor on Linux. It comes with virtually every version of Linux out there and is available on Mac and Windows as well. If you are in a situation where you need to edit from the command line, for example when you ssh into another system, vim will be there. Vim is an ordinary text editor, like notepad. It inserts no special characters into the text document unless you tell it to. Vim has some powerful commands that make it fast and efficient. Vim also has a...

2. The Critical Role of IT Support Staff in Healthcare

coursera

This is a very exciting time to be exploring a career in Health IT Support! In this introductory course, you’ll learn about various roles in IT support that are common in healthcare. IT support staff play critical roles in many different healthcare venues. In addition to helping clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms, you may end up providing support in a skilled nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, virtual care setting, or even a patient’s home! On any given day, you may interact...

3. Learn To Code Like a Pro With VI Editor

udemy
4.3
(380)

Master the powerful command line text editors VI and VIM and take your development skills to the next level...

4. Kickstart a Freelance Editor & Proofreader Career on Upwork

udemy
4.3
(1,089)

The Complete Guide to Satisfying Clients and Growing Your Freelancing Business...

5. Complete Introduction to Power BI Query Editor

udemy
4.7
(2,961)

Learn how to import, transform and prepare data using the Query Editor in Microsoft Power BI...

6. Trading Options for Weekly Income

udemy
4.1
(278)

Learn To Profit From Trading Weekly Options...

7. How to Become a Freelance Editor: Make Money Copy Editing

udemy
4.5
(630)

Learn how to start or add editing to your freelance offerings!...

8. Weekly Options Trading - Credit Spreads & Iron Condors

udemy
4
(3,180)

My Blueprint for Trading Weekly Options...

9. Power BI DAX Masterclass - Measures & Calculated Columns

udemy
4.6
(1,980)

Master advanced analysis with DAX - Learn Measures & Calculated Columns in Power BI (Advanced)!...

10. Master Dynamics 365 Tables, Relationships, And Columns.

udemy
4.6
(1,006)

Learn To Customize Microsoft Dynamics 365 Tables (Entities), Relationships, And Columns (Fields)...

11. Proofreading Power Basics

udemy
4.8
(959)

Learn to proofread from an experienced educator and subject matter expert...

12. Facebook Marketing - How I Reach 2,000,000 People Weekly

udemy
4.2
(375)

Facebook Marketing & Facebook Advertising strategies I use to reach 2,000,000 + people weekly. Build a successful brand!...

13. Weekly Options and study of Options expiration dynamics

udemy
4.2
(396)

Options behavior in the final 2 weeks before expiry is dramatic. This course analyzes Weekly Options until the final day...

14. Unlocking the Unreal Engine Material Editor

udemy
4.7
(806)

Learn how to combine textures, color data, and math to create your own custom AAA quality shaders...

15. How to be a Journalist - The Complete Guide to Journalism

udemy
4.6
(888)

All you need to know to become a freelance journalist or staffer and get paid for what you write...

16. Writing Proofreading Course: Proofread Punctuation & Grammar

udemy
4.2
(614)

Proofread Writing & Translation Like a Pro Be a Freelance Proofreader on Upwork Grasp Punctuation & Grammar...

17. Vim Masterclass

udemy
4.7
(5,033)

Mastering the vi and Vim Editors on the Linux, Unix, Mac, and Windows Operating Systems...

18. Vim for Ruby Developers

udemy
4.5
(362)

Learn how to automate your coding workflow and use a text editor like a professional Ruby developer...

19. Photoshop Beginners Mastery: Zero to Hero in Photoshop

udemy
4.5
(6,439)

Learn Photoshop quickly and easily with essentials of Adobe Photoshop to produce beautiful images in Adobe Photoshop...

20. How to Find & Correct Writing Errors: The Proofreading Guide

udemy
4.2
(1,136)

Identify and Remove Embarrassing Mistakes from Documents...

Top 10 most affordable universities for opinion editors

The most affordable schools for opinion editors are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and hunter college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for opinion editors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for opinion editors.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

6. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

7. University of Houston - Victoria

Victoria, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$6,491

Cost of attendance

19,075

8. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

9. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

10. University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,368

Cost of attendance

21,034

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for opinion editors

The hardest universities for opinion editors to get into are Northwestern University, Washington University in St Louis, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for opinion editors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for opinion editors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

7. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,545

10. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for opinion editors

The easiest schools for opinion editors to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, mount saint mary's university, and saint joseph's college of maine.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an opinion editor without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for opinion editors.

1. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

2. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

3. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Grand View University

Des Moines, IA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,060

6. Our Lady of the Lake University

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,002

7. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

8. Rosemont College

Rosemont, PA • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,026

9. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

10. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

Average opinion editor salary by education level

Opinion editors with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $55,098 annually. With a Master's degree, opinion editors earn a median annual income of $52,657 compared to $49,486 for opinion editors with an Bachelor's degree.
Opinion editor education levelOpinion editor salary
Master's Degree$52,657
Bachelor's Degree$49,486
Doctorate Degree$55,098

Opinion editor education FAQs

Search for opinion editor jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs